Page 9 of Flashpoint Feelings

“This is Maya,” Mack adds, gesturing to me. “The newest member of Ladder 24.”

“Welcome to the neighborhood.” Joe’s dark eyes twinkle as he glances from Mack to me and back. Then, before I know it, Joe leans toward me as if whispering a secret. “Met Smokey yet, have you?”

“Smokey?” I ask, my brows coming together.

“Joe, she—” Mack starts, but Joe ignores him.

“Mack here has a soft spot for little ones, you know. He found a half-frozen kitten around back here last winter and took it home, he did. Named it Smokey, if you can believe it.”

“We should get started,” Mack interrupts, louder this time as he spins to head for the elevator bank.

“It was nice to meet you,” I tell Joe, offering an apologetic shrug of my shoulder. He winks at me as I turn to follow Mack, rushing to catch up, thanks to his ground-eating stride across the lobby.

Inside the shiny new elevator, Mack inserts his firefighter’s key into the control panel and flips open the tablet. The doors slide shut with a soft whoosh, sealing us inside. My anger, temporarily forgotten during the introduction, resurges as I take in the gleaming control panel, the potent smell of metal and lubricant, and the way Mack’s acting as if I’m not here to help.

I wait until we’re halfway up, studiously ignoring how his presence fills more space than his physical body takes up, before I slap the Emergency Stop button. The elevator jolts to a halt.

“What the hell?” Mack turns to me with his green eyes wide.

“That’s what I’d like to know.” I plant my feet, crossing my arms.

“What?”

“I heard you in Chief’s office.” My voice rises, despite my effort to keep it steady. A bead of sweat trails down my spine, but I refuse to back down. “First, you’ve been avoiding me for days, and then you try to get out of working with me? If you don’t think I’m capable—”

“Capable?” He barks out a laugh that holds zero humor. “Christ, Maya, you’re nothing but capable. That kitchen fire yesterday? The way you spotted that gas leak before any of us? You probably saved half the block.”

“Then why—”

“Because,” he snaps, as if it’s a complete response.

“What are you, like five?Becauseis not an answer. Tell me the truth.”

“Because I can’t think straight when I’m around you!” The words explode from him, echoing in the confined space. “Because every time we’re together, all I can think about is how much I want to—”

He cuts himself off, running a rough hand through his copper hair. The movement makes his bicep flex beneath his uniform shirt, and my mouth goes dry.

“Want to what?” I challenge, stepping closer as I stare up at him, my hands flying to my hips. My heart pounds so hard my chest actually aches.

His jaw clenches, a muscle ticking. “Maya…”

“Maybe, if I’m such adistraction,you should just kiss me and get it over with then.” The suggestion lands like a dare, but I’m too far gone to care. “Right here, right now. You know, get it out of your system.”

“That isn’t a good idea.” His voice is deathly low, but his eyes slip to my lips, betraying him. His pupils are blown wide, those green irises transformed into the thinnest of rings.

I inch forward, erasing the distance between us, unable, or unwilling, to accept no for an answer. “No one’s around.” The sliver of air between us feels electric, charged with possibility. “It would be just between you and me.”

“Last warning,” he growls, but he’s already backing me against the wall, one large hand coming up to cup my jaw, and a fierce hunger in those striking green eyes.

Chapter seven

Mack

The instant Maya challenges me to kiss her, my carefully constructed resolve crumbles like a charred support beam giving way in an inferno. One second, I’m warning her off. The next, I’m drowning in those defiant blue eyes and cupping her jaw in my palm. Her skin is impossibly soft against my hand, and when her tongue darts out to wet her lips, I’m lost.

I rest my forehead against hers, breathing in the floral scent of her shampoo.

“Tell me to stop, darling,” I murmur, squeezing my eyes shut, though we both know that’s not happening.

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